Massive Attack - Ritual Spirit [EP]: 8 (A-)

Hugely rare at this point. I'm not seeing anything less than $50, for a 4-track EP. Oh well. I also have Blue Lines, Protection, No Protection, and Mezzanine. I will get around to posting them one day.

Scientist - Dub in the Roots Tradition: liked

Four plays

Bark Psychosis - Hex [honorable mention]

:-)

Wavves/Cloud Nothings - No Life for Me: liked

:-)

Glen Brown/King Tubby - Termination Dub (1973-79): liked

:-)

Ornette Coleman - The Unprecedented Music of Ornette Coleman: X stars

I can't think of anything I'm less qualified to evaluate than live free jazz. I put this in the queue because it got a 10 in the Spin guide. Also the first half of The Love Revolution.

[Dan the] Automator - A Much Better Tomorrow: 7.5 (high B+)

Big Youth - Everyday Skank; Tell It Black; and Ride Like Lightning: The Best of Big Youth 1972-1976: notation

All tracks on Everyday Skank are on either Screaming Target or the Natty Universal Dread comp, except "S 90 Skank" and "Cool Breeze," which are on the High Explosion DJ comp. Well, there's also "Medicine Doctor" and "A So We Stay," which I listened to from A Reggae Collection.

As for the other two releases, Tell It Black contains all of Screaming Target, and the rest of the material seems very similar to what's on Ride Like Lightning. A good bit of that material is also on Natty Universal Dread.

Update (2024):

I did another evaluation of Tell It Black vs Ride Like Lightning vs Reggae Phenomenon, and all three of these vs Natty Universal Dread. There is very little overlap between the first three and NUD. And TIB is probably the least useful of the three, because as noted above it contains all of Screaming Target, which you should already be familiar with, and then songs that are repeated on the other two. In fact, its only original track appears to be "Fire Bunn." (By the way, Reggae Phenomenon was originally a 10-track one-disc release that was expanded to two discs when it was reissued in 1990.) Bottom line, the two-disc version of RP has nine original songs out of 20 if you have RLL. I did not double-check all this, so I'm sure there are mistakes, but here are the original songs from each of RLL and RP, which indicates that I should be, and now am, in the market for copy of the former, if one ever shows up for a reasonable price (unlikely).

     "Can You Keep a Secret

     "Dubble Attack
     "Opportunity Rock
     "Mooving Version
     "Cool Breeze
     "Dock of the Bay
     "Big Fight
     "Foreman vs. Frazier
     "A So We Stay
     "Chucky No Lucky
     "Waterhouse Rock
     "Half Ounce
     "Medicine Doctor
     "ABC
     "The Killer
     "Pride and Joy Rock

     "One of These Fine Days
     "Keep Your Dread
     "Natty Cultural Dread
     "I Light & I Salvation
     "Dread High Ranking
     "Jim Squeechy
     "Every Nigger Is a Star
     "Ten Against One
     "Hell Is for Heroes

     "I Am Your Man"
     "It's Not Unusual"
     "Papa Was a Rolling Stone"
     "Love and Happiness"
     "Get Up Stand Up"
     "Notty No Jester"
     "Johnny Reggae"
     "Mammy Hot Daddy Cool"
     "Dread in a Babylon"

Update (July 2026): Finally found a nice copy of Ride Like Lightning for a decent price and will post separately about that one. And of course, I am now in the market for a two-disc CD of RP at a reasonable price, if one ever shows up.

Big Youth - Natty Universal Dread 1973-1979: 8.5 (high A-)

The Libertines - Up the Bracket: 7.5 (high B+)

The Libertines - The Libertines: 7.5 (high B+)

 

The Libertines - I Get Along [EP]: 7 (B+)

The Libertines - Time for Heroes - The Best of The Libertines: 7 (B+)

# [best of] I was hoping that this might be a great listen since it ostensibly cherry-picks the best songs from their first two albums, but it didn’t end up that way.

Kool Keith Presents Thee Undatakerz - Party in tha Morgue!: liked

Only nominally a Kool Keith album - limited verses from him.

Rail Band - Rail Band: 8 (A-)

At least one reviewer identifies this as Buffet Hotel de la Gare. It's their second album. Only reissued on vinyl, which is stupid, and takes me off the market for the original release from 1973. I can only find one copy of that listed at the moment, anyway. For $121 shipped.

Ini Kamoze - Pirate: 7.5 (high B+)

Thanks to Christgau for inspiring me to stick with this. It grows on you. Sells only for a fortune though. Vinyl-only reissue in 2020. Update: Found a reasonably priced original vinyl copy.

Ini Kamoze - Statement: 7.5 (high B+)

Good luck finding any of his first three albums at an affordable price. Update: I ended up finding this for sale new, on CD, for a reasonable price, from his personal website, of all places.

Franco & Orchestra Jazz - L'Afrique Danse No. 6: X (X)

The albums of this old series sell for very high prices obviously. The only one I would consider buying of the first six is the Rochereau one.

The Cucumbers - The Fake Doom Years (1983-1986): notation

As can be deduced from the cover and the title, this compiles all of their early output on the label Fake Doom. See separate review of self-titled EP. In addition to that, it has the album Who Betrays Me (Christgau grades this at B+ and I will probably get to it at some point), one song from the All Shook Up EP (only unique song on that EP), and two previously unreleased tracks.

The Cucumbers - Old Shoes [EP]: 7.5 (high B+)

#indiepop

The Cucumbers - The Cucumbers [Profile, 1987]: 7.5 (high B+)

Outstanding track: "My Boyfriend." #indiepop

Placebo - Placebo: liked

:-)

Ossie All-Stars - Leggo Dub: 7 (B+)

I have this as an extra disc on the reissue of the Gregory Isaacs album Mr. Isaacs.

Docteur Nico - L'Afrique Danse No. 5: X (X)

A little too early-vintage for me to grade. I just don't have the ears or maybe the chops for most music recorded before the late 1960s, which holds true even for the DRC. Can't be bought for decent prices anyway. The first three releases in the L'Afrique Danse series are various artists, and the next three each focus on a different giant, namely, Rochereau, Nico, and Franco. #earlyrumba

Various - Version Dread: Dub Specialist: 7.5 (high B+)

#multiartistcomp